When you consider Christian Eriksen’s form for Tottenham Hotspur this season, the prospect of dropping the Danish international seems frankly absurd.

And yet here it is being suggested anyway, not because the 22-year-old has suddenly become a bad player but because in Mousa Dembele, Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino has found another highly effective number 10 whose presence is currently negating some of Eriksen’s impact on the pitch.

This suggestion will not go down well with all Tottenham fans, but a simple look at the statistics suggests Eriksen could do with a rest, which is no bad thing considering the play-maker has already turned out 32 times for the club this season.

While he and Harry Kane were scoring and creating so much for Spurs, it made sense to keep Eriksen in the limelight, but Dembele’s emergence in a new position means Pochettino can afford to rest his Danish star as he prepares for the business-end of the season.

Goals

Goal Assists

Key Passes

Shots

Shots on Target

Appearances

Mins Played

Christian Eriksen

0

0

5

5

1

2

171

In his last two league matches Eriksen has failed to score or assist, while he has managed just one shot on target.

Playing from the left wing means he also has defensive duties that add to his work-load and are sure to lead to fatigue after a busy campaign.

A few weeks ago, the prospect of dropping Eriksen would have been unthinkable, but now Tottenham have a viable alternative who can score and create while there are sensible options to replace the Dane for a game or two on the left flank.

Vincent Ralph

After graduating with a degree in English Literature, Vincent completed a NCTJ-accredited qualification in newspaper and magazine journalism in 2005. He has worked for HITC for four years and is now Head of Editorial and Journalist Standards.